Rail drill



March 24, 1953 H. H. TALBoYs ErAL 25632342 RAIL DRILL Filed Aug. 26, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l March 24, 1953 H, TALBOYS ETAL 2,632,342

RAIL DRILL Filed Aug. 26, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1953 H. H. TALBOYS ETAL RAIL DRILL 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 26, 1948 n s. o y J n W j f w ,mf

March 24, 1953 H. H. TALBOYS x-:TAL 2,632,342

RAIL DRILL Filed Aug. 26, 1948 4 sheets-Sheet '4 @Z fm2 Patented Mar. 24, 1953 RAIL DRILL Henry H. Talboys and Helmer E. Erickson, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors toNordberg Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wis.,.a corporation of Wisconsin `Applica'tionAugust 26, 1948,'Seria1 No. 46,248

17 Claims.

4Our invention `relates to an improvement in raildrills and has for one purpose to provide an .improved drill for drilling holes'inrailroad rails.

Another purpose is to provide a light and easily operated `rail drill structure.

lAnother purpose is Ito provide an Iimproved drilling or drill actuated mechanism.

vAnother purpose is to lprovide improved means for adjusting the drill or bit support and for -accurately Vpositioning the aperture to be drilled.

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the .specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically ,in Vthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 isa Aperspective view;

.Figure 21is.a.side elevation ywith parts broken away;

Figure 3 is an end elevation on an enlarged scale with parts in section;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure is a section .on the .line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 'is a partial perspective view on a scale larger than Figure l.

'Like parts lare indicated by like symbols throughout the specication and drawings.

Referring to the drawings I, I indicate track .rails with vertical Webs 2 and top rail heads 3. Mounted upon the head 3 of one rail is a supporting structure which includes a pair of parallel, transversely extending .rail engagling vsupports 4. `These are shown as of .rec-

tilinear tubing, but may 'be of any suitable shape. Extending upwardly from each is a vertical post or rod 5. the rodsbeing connected by a top yoke 5a, resting upon and surrounding their upper ends. vertically adjustable upon the rods 5 is ya supporting frame which includes a cross-.piece 6 apertured to guide on the rods 5. It includes depending parts .l having outwardly extending eyes 8, 9, through which the rod 5 also pass. This frame is vertically adjustable by the employment of an adjusting screw IEB, having an operating handle or cross-piece Il and having oppositely threaded portions I2 and I3, corresponding with vnuts l2a. `and 13a which are conned in appropriately formed recesses in the .members 5a and 6 respectively.

`I4 is any `suitable lock nut, with a manual .handle :I5 for locking the parts in vadjusted `position. The cross-piece 6 and its downward .extensions 'l are `unitary 'with va base portion `2l) Shaving 1.8:. llbstalnlalgextension :transversely on 2 the track. Mounted on the base is anylsuitabl powerunit, such as 'the internal combustion .engine generally indicated at 2l.

.Laterally extending bracket members 22 .are aperturedto receive ya rod 23 which spans the two rails and which has an offset end Yportion 24 provided with any suitable insulating member 25 for engaging theopposite rail ofthe track. One of the brackets 22 is provided with an-aperture 26 through which a cotterpin 21 may pass. The rod or tube 23 is `properly apertured to receive the cotter with the offset 24, either inthe upper position, as shown in Figure .1, in thediametrically opposed downward position, l.or in.. position degrees from that shown.

The entire-structure is traversable transversely of the rails. Normally liXedin relation `to the rail is the rail engaging abutment or fork 30, which includes an upper portion 3| movable lengthwise in relation to the base 20, the base .20 being slotted longitudinally along its bottom, as at r32, to permit the downward extension .of .the upper part of the fork 30. The fork 30 .includes two tines '33 located each side of the `below-described drill bit. The upper portion 3| .of the fork .is screw-threaded to receive the screw A34 which is rotatable by the exterior Yhandle .35 .and which is provided with any suitable bearing assembly 36 at its outer end. 31 is any suitable one-way or over-running handle which is rotatable in relation to the screw 34 in one Vdirection only, the direction of permitted rotation being suitably controlled so that it can be used to rotate the screw in either direction.

Extending downwardly from the 'forward end of the base 2B isa knuckle or downward projection 463 in which 4is .rotatably `mounted a socket member 4'! .having a tapered bore 42 which .receives bit holding elements 43 and the -drill bit.

44 is 'any suitable knockout rod. The -socketed member 4I vhas secured to it a ratchet-toothed wheel 45. lthe teeth being formed to receive dogs 46 on arms 4l, each arm terminating at its upper end in an eye 48 surrounding an eccentric 'i9 on the driven shaft`50. The constant tightening of the threads of the ratchet 45 and the spindle 4I, due to theoperation of the machine, would make it very diflicult to unscrew theratchet 45, when necessary to replace it. Therefore, we prefer to use any suitable fusible'washer 45a.

By Ymelting' the fusible washer, the'pressure .be-

tween the threads can be released. `Springs 151| normally urge the dog 46 against the teeth .o'f the wheel 45, the -teeth being formed, however, to

.underride the dogs when the wheel is Vgiven a clockwise direction-'of movement, referring "to "the shaft 50. Y Y K ends'of a tubular member 8|, shown as rectangu-` pact, but efficient, rail drill structure.

bit X is pawl driven. We show two pawls or position of the parts as shown in Figures 3 and 6. The springs 5| may extend through an aperture 52 in the side wall of the downward extension 40 and may be outwardly secured to any suitable bracket 53.

Positioned above the right end of the base 26, referring to the position of the parts as shown in Figure 2, is a pressure frame 55 pivoted as at 56 and provided with an opposite end 51 normally downwardly thrust by a spring 58, coiled about the headed rod or bolt 53, with its upper -nuts 60, 6|. Gripped between the two nuts is any suitable guard plate 62. It will be understood that the upper part of the rod or bolt 59 is screw-threaded and that its compression may be adjusted by varying the position of the nuts 60, 6|. Its head 63 may be employed to position the bracket 53.

The shaft 50 is rotatable in any suitable bearing assemblies 65,*which normally are seated in I appropriately formed seats 66 in the upper portion of the member 55. They are normally upwardly thrust against their seats by any suitable spring or springs 61, as shown in the upward extensions or lugs 68 of Figure 4. The shaft 50 In order 88 indicates the end of an engine or motordriven shaft and 50a an inward extension of the The two shafts extend intothe opposite lar in cross-section and as having-in one corner,

` a longitudinally extending bar 8m. Positioned upon shaft members 50a and 80 and keyed to them to prevent relative rotation are members 82,

each having a rectangular portion 83 and a circular portion 84. One of the members 82 is keyed to each of the shaft ends. vA powerful torsion re- 'l sisting` drive member is thereby provided which permits a reasonable degree of variation in the alignment of the centers of rotation of the two shafts.

It will be realized that whereas We have described and illustrated a practical and operative diagrammatic, rather than as limiting us toour l precise showing.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

We illustrate herein a simple, light and com- The drill dogsV which, in response to rotation of the shaft 50, rotate the bit X through the toothed wheel or.chuck ratchet 45. As one pawl or dog rotates the wheel ratchet 45 in clockwise direction, the 1 other pawl slides over the adjacent tooth into position for an ensuing thrust. The drilling 1 point may be adjusted by rotation of the adjustvvent damage to the structure by too much force between member 55 and ratchet 45. Also, the bit cannot be fed beyond the capacity of the motor. The Voverload release is also equipped or .assisted by the flexible coupling, which includes the rectangular tubular member 8|, which perractuatesa conveying dog or pawl 41.

Vfeeding movement of the device, but its contact member 25 is of suiicient length to maintain the necessary supporting contact with the opposite rail throughout the drilling operation.

In use, and assuming that the screw I0 has been rotated to set the bit X at the proper height,

- rotation of the screw 32, for example for manual rotation of the handle 35, may be employed to move the base 20 to the left, referring to the position of the parts in Figure 2. The drill bit X is rotated by the motor 2| through the abovedescribed drive and as the operator manually feeds the base 20 to the left, the drill bit X advances into the metal. Any overfeeding beyond the capacity of the motor simply results in an upward lifting of the member 55 against the spring 58. 'Ihe shaft 58 maintains its proper relationship to the member 55, being upwardly thrust by the springs 61. When the overload terminates, the spring 55 is effective to return the parts to initial position and the exible coupling 8| permits the relative changes in position of the shafts and 5lla.`

' The machine may be made of lightmaterial,

' such as aluminum, and may easily be handled,

being a one-man machine.` It may readily. be lifted. We illustrate, for example, a tubular handle 3i! on brackets 9| which are shown as mounted on the rods 5.VV The lightness and ease in handling make it easy for one man to operate the drill and to remove it from the rails when a train approaches. No part of the machine rests on the ties. The cross-bar, support or stabilizing bar 23 maintains the machine in level position when drilling. The fact that it can be reversed with the offset portion either up or down or, if desired, sideways, permits the operator .easily to maintain the Vmachine level on rail when the opposite rail is of a different height.

With reference to the operation of the drill mechanism, we illustrate the particular embodiment of our invention showing diametrically opposed eccentrcs 49, each of which controls or When one of the members 41 is at the end of its conveying movement and in contact with one of the ratchet teeth, the other member 41 is withdrawn into position to engage another tooth. In the device as herein shown and operated, it is ready to engage the ,next tooth and toconvey it forwardly one step before it, in turn, overrides the next following tooth. Thus .the drill bit is rotated step by step, but at a high rate of speed, and we find that the step by step rotation provides a very effective cutting movement of the bit.

It will be understood that when the operator speeds up the device to beyond its cutting capacity, or when the bit strikes overhard material, then the safety must come into play and the springs 58 permit a lifting position. In Figure 3 the spring 58 is shown as holding the parts in the normal Idrilling position, whereas in Figure 6, the spring 58 is compressed and the member 51 of the yoke 55 has been raised, the yoke rotating about its pivot 56. Meanwhile, the` springs 61 v'-k'eep *thebearing assembly inproperpositionand fthe' ii'exi-ble' connection E8-I prevents any interrup- 'tion :of "the drive and avoids any strain-on the 'driVensh'a-t.

"-I-t :should also befkept in Ir-nind' 'that when `the yoke ''isin'the release 'positiono'f 'Figure 6, with Vthe shaft "w55 'upwardly `raised .by the :springs 61,

is a spacing .bar whichkeeps the square members 82 at a proper separation. They are of Vcourse Yheldagainst rotation by'their squared form. `I1n '-assernloling"the connection, the 'members -82 may fsi-mply beislipped into the square tube '8l or the vsquare tube 8i maybe slipped vover one of them,

the other'being thereafterinserted intothe square "tube proper operating relationship.

We claim: 1. In a drill structure for drilling track rails,

a frame, supporting means for supporting said 'frame in position transversely across and'above la track rail, a drive shaft on said frame mounted for rotation about a horizontal transverse axis, located above the rail top, and means for rotating it, a drill spindle on said frame mounted for rotation about an axis generally parallel with but below the axis of the drive shaft and in horizontal alignment with the web of the rail, and means for driving said drill spindle including an eccentric on said drive shaft, a ratchet Wheel connected to said spindle and a pawl surrounding and depending from said eccentric, said pawl having a ratchet end formed and adapted to engage and thrust against the teeth of the ratchet wheel in response to rotation of the eccentric, and yielding means for urging said pawl against the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

2. The structure of claim l characterized by and including a plurality of eccentrics angularly separated on the drive shaft and a plurality of pawls surrounding and depending from said eccentrics, each having an eye surrounding one of said eccentrics.

3. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including a releasable support for the drive shaft formed and adapted to permit the drive shaft to recede upwardly in response to predetermined excess resistance to the thrust of the pawl against the ratchet wheel.

4. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including a releasable support for the drive shaft formed and adapted to permit the drive shaft to recede upwardly in response to predetermined excess resistance to the thrust of the pawl against the ratchet wheel, and yielding means of sufficient strength normally to hold said releasable support in predetermined operating position.

5. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including motor means mounted on the fra-me, and a torque tube extending between the motor means and the drive shaft.

6. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including motor means mounted on the frame, and a non-cylindrical torque tube extending between the motor means and the drive shaft, the motor means and the drive shaft having connecting abutments extending into the opposite ends of said torque tube.

7. The structure of claim 1 characterized by c and 'including -motor vmeans mounted .on the 'fra-me and va* rectangular torque -tube -fextending 'between the motor-means `andthe/drive fshaft,.the motor means and the drive shaft having generally cylindrical abutments extending iinto-the'opposite reridsof'-the'toroluetube.

S. `a drill structure 'fior drilling 'track frailsyra frame 4adapted to 'be Ypositioned l:transversely 'across 4and above a vvtrack "rail, a motor onsa'id frame, a drive shaft on 'saidframe'and a yielding 1bearing support therefor'adapted-normallyto hold :said drive shaft-with vits .axis in a 'predetermined "horizontal positionin a plane transverse-to the track, a yielding release adapted to permit up- "ward movement of vvsaid bearing A'support in response' to predeterminedoverload, a drill spindle "rotatably supported on said fraine for rotation about 'an f-axis generally :parallel with but below the'axis ofthedriveis'haft and in horizontal alignment with the Aweb of the rail, and a ratchet -and pawl driving connection between the drive lshaft and the drill spindle.

"9. The 'structure of claim 8 "characterized vby and including a driving connection betweenthe motor'and thefdrive shaft effective throughout'a substantial range of displacement of the axisof "the drive shaft dur-ing` the `release 'of the 'bearing Support.

10. The structure of claim 8 characterized by and including a torque tube driving connection between the motor and the drive shaft.

l1. In a drill structure for drilling track rails, a frame, supporting means for supporting said frame in position transversely across and above a track rail, a drive shaft on said frame mounted for rotation about a horizontal, transverse axislocated above the rail top and means for rotating it, a spindle shaft mounted for rotation about an axis generally parallel with but below the axis of the drive shaft and in horizontal alignment with the exterior of the web of the rail, means for maintaining a driving connection between said drive shaft and said spindle shaft including a rotatable head generally axially aligned with said drive shaft but spaced outwardly therefrom, a driving connection between said head and the spindle shaft, and a flexible coupling between said drive shaft and said head.

12. The structure of claim 11 characterized in that the drive shaft and the rotatable head have portions extending into opposite open ends of a tubular driving connection, and including spacing means within said tubular driving connection, adapted to maintain a predetermined spacing between said portions.

13. The structure of claim 11 characterized in that the driving connection between the head and the spindle shaft includes one or more eccentrics rotatable with the head, and downwardly depending pawls surrounding said eccentrics, the spindle shaft having a ratchetwheel adapted to receive the lower ends of said pawls.

14. The structure of claim 11 characterized by and including an eccentric dog-and-tooth connection between the head and the spindle shaft,

and yielding means formed and adapted normally to hold the rotatable head at a predetermined distance from above the spindle shaft while permitting an upward recession of the head in response to predetermined conditions of excess stress.

l5. The structure of claim 11 characterized by and including supporting means for the head including a movable yoke overlying an upper portion of the head, and yielding means tending normally to hold the yoke against movement but adapted to permit an upward movement of the yoke under predetermined conditions of excess resistance.

16. The structure of claim 11 characterized by and including supporting means for the head including a movable yoke overlying an upper por'- tion of the head, yielding means tending normally to hold the yoke against movement but adapted to permit an upward movement of the yoke under predetermined conditions of excess resistance, and yielding means adapted normally to urge the head against an overlying portion of the yoke.

17. In a drill structure for drilling track rails, a frame including portions overlying and resting upon a track rail, a drive shaft on said frame mounted for rotation about a horizontal transverse axis located at a level above the rail top and means for rotating it, a spindle shaft mounted for rotation about an axis generally parallel with but below the axis for the drive shaft and in horizontal alignment with the exterior of the web of the rail, means for maintaining a driving connection between the drive shaft` and the spindle shaft including a rotatable head generally axially aligned with the drive shaft but spaced outwardly therefrom, an eccentric dog-and-tooth connection between the head REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 16,900 Taft Mar. 24, 1857 271,026 Bradford Jan. 23, 1883 277,735 Irvine et al May 15, 1883- 411,664 Kidney et al. Sept. 24, 1889 554,890 Meier Feb. 18, 1896 1,115,402 Coulter Oct. 27, 1914 1,799,488 Webster Apr. 7, 1931 2,005,122 Young et al June 18, 1935 2,345,931 Gates Apr. 4, 1944 2,376,524 Talboys et al May 22, 1945 

